Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Shoes My Husband Hates: Grey Ankle Strap

...a series that I'll be running all week, featuring - you guessed it! - shoes my husband hates. Go here to read the previous series from 2014.

Now, a couple of things before the fun begins.

L and I have been married nearly 20 years. He in no way ever tells me what to wear, what to buy or even suggests anything to do with my appearance unless I ask him for his opinion (and he is honest when I do so). He is definitely biased by what styles were classic when he was a teenager, so pointy-toed pumps are the ultimate feminine shoe in his eyes, and he knows what he does not like. You may disagree, or you may agree, but either way, let's play nice here.

Today's outfit: Retro Etro and Invisible Ankle Straps!

Blazer - Etro, vintage 90s, consignment; last seen here in August 2015

Lace top - Abercrombie & Fitch, thrifted; last worn here in May for the Day of Indolents

Pants - Banana Republic, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in March for weekend brunch

Shoes - Gentle Souls; last worn here in April with baby blue and ocelot

I was told a couple of times how "professional" this outfit looked. I think that's code for "not your usual whackitude batsh*t crazy outfits." It feels like a very normal outfit for me, but I still liked it.

The blazer is the schtar of the outfit - I haven't worn it in ages (I noted here, way down, in March that I hadn't worn it during my fall/winter season last year). I love it, though and look how smashing it is.

It's cotton, cupro (a wood-pulp-based fibre) and silk, and is made in Italy (like all Etro goods are).

I forgot how much I love these pants! Unfortunately, they completely hid the awesome ankle straps on the shoes.

I haven't posted details of the blazer in years. Check out the gorgeous tie silk lapels.

Swoon, and that lining? All the colours!

This is likely from the 90s, which is when Etro started making ready-to-wear men's and women's clothing.

No big 80s shoulder pads, and the length is not quite that "X-Files Scully extra long jacket" thing that was going on at the end of the 90s (although it'll be back, mark my words!). I paid $42.00 for it in 2013.

But wait, what about the shoes?

I love these shoes - what a fabulous colour and shape! But you're not here to read what I think...let's see how they fare with L, our arbiter of shoe fashion this week.

Another pair that are really only mildly disliked (Sheila’s good taste
makes this task difficult) but since I wasn’t hired to be laudatory, here goes.
These shoes have a chunky heel that flows down into an overly thick sole. This
heel is what I would call "interesting" but only in the ominous way your
enemies might say, "May you live in interesting times." The shoes are
further cursed with a finish that remind me (painfully) of the ugly Sears
catalogue suede jacket I used to wear in my late teens. I used to think those
jackets qualified as dressing up, but they actually looked kind of shabby. In
the parlance of the Sears catalogue I expect these shoes would be colour coded
“003” for “frivolous grey.”

Hired? Honey, you are not being paid for this! Ha, this does remind me of those dove grey 80s suede jackets that were everywhere back in the early 80s, though, before shoulder pads took over our world. Kinda like this:

I see them in vintage stores a lot - the leather is hard and creaky. Avoid.

Moving on, let's look at our stuff:

Yup, still love the shoes, so suck it up, L.

Simple bling:

I was all about really clean lines today.

Cuff - POLY, thifted

Ring - POLY, vintage fair

Earrings - Dior

We had a truly spectacular sunset last night.

"I must be ever-vigilant."

Shockingly, that whole "red at night, sailor's delight" thing didn't work very well - it rained for much of today, although it's sunny and windy now.

I moved in a little closer.

"I know you're there, woman."

The nearer I got, the more his ears waggled at me and the less colour the camera picked up.

I do love that blazer on you! I like your red pants too. I'm going to make a serious effort next year when I go back to work to find some nice pants for the office, some neutral pairs as well as a fun colour and print.

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